On a noisy factory floor in Columbus, Ohio, trade union apprentice Jorge Herrera moved quickly as he assembled ventilation ducts to be used in the construction of a large car manufacturing plant on the outskirts of the city. The 27-year-old asylum seeker from Nicaragua, who had welding experience back in his home country, crossed the U.S.-Mexico border two years ago. He works alongside Sofia Mattern Mondragon, a 22-year-old Mexican-American worker who grew up in the United States.